Although the thought of installing a GPS-enabled personal navigation device onto a motorcycle might seem a bit odd at first glance, the truth of the matter is that a lot of bikers find these products to be extremely useful when visiting some unknown area. And that's the reason why the people over at TomTom have decided to improve on their very popular TomTom RIDER 2'nd edition navigator and have announced some pretty interesting updates, mostly software-related.

New features include TomTom Map Share, extensive safety features such as the Help Me! menu, TomTom's latest map guarantee and pre-installed Tele Atlas maps of Western & Eastern Europe. In addition, bikers now have easy access to dedicated trip statistics. This allows them to see average and maximum speeds per journey, total miles traveled and distance from home.

Customers who have previously purchased a RIDER 1st or RIDER 2nd Edition can now also benefit from the latest software features by updating free of charge via TomTom HOME. In addition, when purchasing a new Tele Atlas map, they will now have access to TomTom Map Share.

"We aim to provide all TomTom customers with the highest-quality navigation experience available," declared Harold Goddijn, TomTom's chief executive officer, upon announcing this interesting upgrade. "Now, TomTom RIDER customers have access to the same innovative features as users of our car products, as well as extensive route planning options - services that can be particularly helpful as the summer biker season approaches."

Last, but certainly not least, it's also important to mention that the enhanced TomTom RIDER 2nd Edition has a recommended retail price of 349.99 pounds sterling (689.93 US dollars) for the UK/Ireland version and 399.99 pounds sterling (788.5 US dollars) for Europe version, both versions being slated to arrive in stores at some point in early May 2008.

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